Prologue : Trek To Everest Base Camp

An object continues to remain at rest unless acted upon by a force.
Sir Isaac Newton in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

…little I was aware of, when I learnt this classic mechanics’ law that, it’s valid in your life too. You continue to remain in the state of rest, comfort zone, unless you feel the force.

Circa, 2018 : Remote village named Ghanghria in Uttarkhand. We were returning back from our first long Himalayan trail. I went on the trip, as a casual break from regular work. But the magnificence of the mighty Himalayas has provided such a huge thrust, that we all moved. Spellbound. This was not going to stop and we have to continue our Himalaya’s visits in future. And what could have been better than Sagarmāthā, the “goddess of the sky” herself as a challenge.

To quote an old saying I’m on The Hunt for Who I’ve Not Yet Become.

Inertia – down and dusted:

Benjamin Franklin said, if you fail to prepare, you are actually preparing to fail. A high altitude trek on a rough terrain requires a lot more than regular picnic preparation. One needs a fair amount of mental and physical endurance in high altitudes. I am not comfortable in running long distances or duration. So I moved to cycling. I started commuting to office on cycle. An average day included 35km and 2 and half hours of cycling, to and fro to office. ( That is less than the time taken to commute by car in Bengaluru)

In addition, me and my friend Nitesh spent sometime playing badminton or hitting our office gym.

Team

When myself and Nitesh, decided to see Everest, TrekNomad, was our first choice. Naveen and his team at TrekNomads are dedicated to the cause of helping amateur climbers scale new height. Literally. They came up with a detailed plan, and we were altogether six of us (Myself, Nitesh,Naveen, Anushya, Priya, Ibrahim) confirmed for the trip.

Scheduled Plan:

Below is the “planned” itinerary and there was slight change in the it as we were on trek. I will highlight the deviations in detail pages, later.

Itinerary. Click to expand.

Day 1

Kathmandu to Phakding via Lukla

Elevation: 8,563 ft/2,610 m

Trek Duration: 3 hours, 8 Km

Early morning flight to the village of Lukla where we begin our trek into the Khumbu region. After landing, our gear will be loaded onto porters as we trek for about two and a half hours, through terraced hillsides, crossing the Dudh Koshi river on our first suspension bridge before reaching the village of Phakding. Stay the night in Phakding.

Day 2

Namche Bazaar

Elevation: 11,286 ft / 3,440 m

Trek Duration: 6 hours, 10 Km

We continue trekking along the banks of Dudh Koshi, we cross this majestic river many times on exhilarating suspension bridges laden with prayer flags before entering the Sagarmatha National Park. The trail then climbs to Namche Bazaar, the largest Sherpa village in the Khumbu Valley. Stay the night in Namche Bazaar.

Day 3

Namche Bazaar Acclimatisation

This is a rest day to help you acclimatise to the altitude. You will head out on a acclimatisation trek today after which you can Spend the day exploring the village and discover the real sherpa culture. Visit a museum and stay the night in Namche Bazar.

Day 4

Phortse Tanga

Elevation: 12,073 ft/ 3,680 m

Trek Duration: 5 hours, 9 Km

This trek starts with an early morning uphill climb to Namche Bazaar, from here turn towards Phortse Thanga via Dudhkoshi Valley. The zig-zag trail has some of the best views, you can even spot mountain goats, Himalayan Thar and other birds of the Khumbu Glacier. Stay the night at Phortse Tanga.

Day 5

Maccherma

Elevation: 14,665 ft/ 4,470 m

Trek Duration: 5 hours, 12 Km

Start your trek with a steady climb up a scenic ridge and bask in the panoramic views of Kangtega and Thamserku as you reach Luza. We then climb up to the hillside above the river settlement at Maccherma near a juncture of glacial streams. Stay the night at the Maccherma.

Day 6

Gokyo

Elevation: 15,715 ft/4,790 m

Trek Duration: 3 hours, 7 Km

Today the trek starts with a gentle climb through ridge Chorten. You'll find the views of the landscapes and mountains extremely pleasing. The trail leads to the river bed, after which there will be a steady climb towards the moraine of Ngozumba glacier. Stay overnight at Gokyo.

Day 7

Dragnag

Elevation: 15,419 ft/4700 m

Trek Duration: 6 hours, 10 Km

Wake up much before sunrise and trek for to summit the Gokyo-Ri. Watch the sunrise from the peak and marvel at the magnificence of the mighty Himalayas including: Barun Tse and Mt Everest. Have breakfast at the peak and start descending towards Dragnag. It will take about 4 hours to trek to Thangna from Gokyo Lake. Stay the night at Dragnag.

Day 8

Dzongla

Elevation: 15,846 ft/4830 m

Trek Duration: 7 hours, 7 Km

Start the day with a climb up to Cho-La-Pass and descend to Dzongla. The trail to Cho-La-Pass has good scenic views of Mt. Everest, Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Cho Oyo, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Nuptse (7,879 m), Mt. Makalu (8,481 m), Mt. Cholaste (6,440 m), Mt. Tawache (6,542 m), and Mt. Gyachung (7,952 m). Explore Dzongla and stay the night at Dzongla.

Day 9

Gorakshep

Elevation: 16,863 ft/5,140 m

Trek Duration: 5+3 hours, 7+4 Km

Today we start trekking from Dzongla to Khumbhu Glacier with magnificent views of Tawache and Cholaste. As we start approaching Lobuche, the temperature starts dipping and the high altitude starts kicking in. From Lobuche we plan to trek up to Gorakshep and in the evening trek to the Kala Patthar peak to watch the sunset. Stay the night in Gorakshep.

Day 10

Everest Base Camp

Elevation: 17,595 ft/5,363 m

Trek Duration: 3+6 hours, 4+7 Km

After breakfast, trek to Everest Base Camp for about 6 hours. From here we can get a good glimpse of Pumori (7,165 m), Lingtren (6,713 m), Khumbutse (6,639 m), Mt. Everest (8,848 m) and more ranges. Descend back to Gorakshep and stay the night there.

Day 11

Pangboche

Elevation: 12,893 ft/3,930 m

Trek Duration: 8 hours, 18 Km

Start your descent from Gorakshep early in the morning and continue trekking to a small settlement of Pheriche for lunch. Reach Pangboche and stay the night there.

Day 12

Namche Bazaar

Elevation: 11,286 ft/3,440 m

Trek Duration: 6 hours, 12 Km

Trek back to Namche Bazaar through a trail that goes through valleys and pasturelands. On this trek, you pass through the Tengboche Monastry enjoying the picturesque view of Monjo valley. Reach Namche Bazaar and stay the night in Namche Bazaar.

Route covered

Below is the route overview that we covered in the trip. KML version of trip was created by Nitesh.

EBC_KML Download

And the Journey…

Started with a flight to Kathmandu. With an overnight stay at Kathmandu, we left to Lukla in the morning.

: We were joined in Kathmandu by Raj (our Guide), Pawan (From ABC Adventures, partner of TrekNomads) and Prateek (who directly joined ABC Adventures from Sholapur). So we were all together 9 for the trip.